Underground Bobber's Carbon-Clad Triumph

Carbon fiber and classic Triumphs aren't subjects you'll find together very often. Northern California's Underground Bobbers is trying to change that. With extensive experience in the boat industry and a passion for vintage Brit iron, their latest example #72 shows just how well the two go together.

Comment with Chopcult (41)

I would be interested to know the considerations that went into the exhaust covers. Is the gas tank covered in carbon fiber or MADE of carbon fiber?

Nothing shocking design wise about the bike, but, as I said on JJ a few months back, it would be interesting to see some traditional styling and molding done with carbon fiber and modern techniques. I guess if CAD and computer driven cutters are 'metal fabrication' then carbon fibers and extensive molding has a place as well.

Eh, nothing special aside from the parts being made of Carbon Fiber but that in and of itself, is not that special. In my opinion the Carbon Fiber stuff should stay with new crotch rockets, a good Cafe is only good if it's got original parts.

I get what you're saying Mike, I think we agree for the most part. I think there are some places where it could come in handy. Making aerodynamic body parts, for the most part, is def a crotch rocket/racing deal. We can disagree on the Cafe, since I'm sure the Cafe crowd has as much variation in definition as we would defining a bobber... I don't see where we have a lot of need for plastics and fiber (carbon or glass) but I could see some covers, fenders, fender/tailights, etc where it could play.

I am not necessarily into this machine, but can respect the work that has gone into it. As far as a cafe only being good if it has original parts, I disagree. There has always been an underlying theme in racing of making parts lighter, using exotic materials, and removing unnecessary items to make a bike that handles and performs better, sometimes at the cost of appearance. What are considered original parts on a custom bike anyways? Isn't that what its all about? jmo.

wow i cant belive the kind of negative responce this is getting...... i thought this was all about doing your own thing, building the best bike for your situation ie, riding fast, traveling, doing burn outs or what not, etc. i also thought it was about demonstrating your skill set to display your personal vision for what you think a cool bike looks like.

i am over the square mentality that is so popular right now of " lets make a chopper how they did in the 70's and thats the only way to do it " . i am not saying those old bikes arent cool but i am just saying they take very little thought because those bikes are just a snap shot of the past.

at any rate i think this bike is rad. i have done a fair amount of carbon work, and laying up carbon like that is super tricky to make it turn out nice. my hat goes off to you for building a rad bike. is it super insane crazyest bike i have ever seen? no but less is more most of the time.

I'm all for it, not what I would build, but I didn't build it did I? Still great craftsmanship involved in something like that and it had to shave a ton of weight off the bike. It's amazing what dropping 50lbs off of a bike can do to your power to weight ratio!

Amen to Andy.
And to the dude's whining that there's not enough OG parts? Dude... what was the point of a cafe racer back in the day? To shave weight and build a faster bike, dummies. Modern science has provided better ways to achieve these ends, so to pretend that modern materials and technologies don't exist would just be dumb.

I agree with andy as well. To think that racers back in the day wouldnt have used carbon fiber if it was available is crazy. Of course they would have! To shave that much weight would have been ideal. I think this is totally cool and as true to the original cafe form as any out there. Hell its almost even more true to the original cafe ethos of lighter & faster is better!

my original prejudices would have said that i wouldn't like the carbon fiber on an older bike but looking at the photos, i think it turned out great. it looks light and simple and i think it captures a lot of the philosophy behind cafe racers. if it looks good and it turns out the way you want it, hats off to you.

Well, as I said above, our 'community' seems to have a thread of negativity that runs through it vis a vis carbon fiber. I had some almost violent responses on JJ. On the one hand, I think it has a lot to with CF's association with metric street fighters/crotch rockets/what have you. While Bondo and Fiberglass are 'okay', no purist would use CF. I think it is one of those things that all of us react to from time to time without thinking it through. It's hard to be a 'Steel, not Plastic' evangelist and then immediately see resin body parts as an advancement.

On the other hand, chopper/bobbers are supposed to be about stripping away the unnecessary or appurtenance. (not often I get to use THAT word). So ADDING things can be countraculture at time.

What some of us sometimes forget, and as Andy points out, the community has grown beyond a 'chopper' or a 'bobber'. There are plenty of garage built cafes and streetfighters that folks on this here community work on.

The common thread is building and fabbing.

But I would advise a re read, I don't think anyone knocked the work or the craftsmanship, merely where they thought CF fits in to their reality.

I for one would love to have some time to experiment with CF in order to fabricate some things that I don't have the skills for in metal.

nothing wrong with that bike, lots of my buddies ride cafes and that thing would be rad, lighter=faster. Good work, im always open to "new" ideas and using elements of other styles, even if it comes from the good ol crotch rockets..

Wow... this bike has generated a LOT of response. Took me a bit just to get to the end. One of the great things about the chopper community that many other motorcycle clubs don't share, is a great respect for other's ideas on what is a cool ride. I'm also a member over on another Triumph forum that is not nearly as open to my own ride BECAUSE it is a chopper... they are into the "traditional" British bike. It's funny, isn't it? I mean when you think of a bunch of hard core chopper riders/purists, you don't think open minded.

Anyway, great fabrication... and man would I like to ring this bike's bell up a canyon outside of the city somewhere. Don't tell Ginger (my chopper)

All in all that is a killer take on a Cafe Bike. The fact that carbon is so light and the work is so nostalgic. I really have to say I wonder what that ride tips the scales at? You gotta appreciate the craftsmanship and I can't stop thinking about how much fun that must be to ride with so much less weight! Any one know what this thing weighs?

I love it. All bullshit aside, lighter is better because lighter is faster and that encompasses the true cafe/bobber belief. cafes were stripped and aluminum tins were used when possible to save weight with the tech of the day and that was it. jump in the delorian, hit 88mph with a sheet of cf and a how to manual and you better fucking believe them old rockers would use that shit right up, and beg for more.

I feel the whole "if its not pure, its not right" mentality is for the birds. If you were a true purist you wouldnt hardtail and bike that came stock with shocks and call it a bobber, you would cut shit off the stock bike then call it a bobber.